


Unexpected Developments

by hydesboy



Category: Jekyll & Hyde - Wildhorn/Wildhorn & Bricusse & Cuden/Bricusse, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Genre: Hyde is unpleasant but not to Lucy, Lucy is validly worried, a character is killed but it happens outside and everyone is inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydesboy/pseuds/hydesboy
Summary: Hyde's irrationality and willingness to engage in violence works in Lucy's favour for onceThis is an au more because Lucy experiences something good happening to her
Kudos: 8





	Unexpected Developments

"Get yer sorry arse out there and do yer damned job, Lucy! I don't keep you 'round 'ere to mope around upstairs!"

The ruckus was not all too loud, and of course it wasn't, the speaker was careful not to draw too much attention to them after all. It was loud enough for the one man that they would not want to hear it to, in fact, overhear them though. Luck never did step even one foot into the god forsaken pub, so why would it turn its attention to them now out of any time.

As the poor woman, Lucy Harris, staggered awkwardly across the floor from where she had been so unceremoniously tossed, she just so happened to meet the eye of none other than Edward Hyde himself. A sly smile crossed his face, and it was fortunate indeed that he had chosen to wear the very tinted glasses that he had already won - or rather stolen - from The Spider on his first night out, otherwise the rage burning within the unnatural green pits that he called his eyes would have surely scorched the air itself.

"Now, my good man," Hyde purred, sauntering up to where the man who called himself The Spider - his true name was kept from those who frequented the establishments that were under his name, the name being known only to Simon Stride, who so happened to be the patron of all three - with a smile twitching across his features. Thank god Henry was so bloody good at faking his emotions, at least some of that was able to transfer over to the other. "I dare say I have been paying more than enough to keep you from treating my dear Lucy in such a way, no?"

"You don't own 'er." came the response, and while this was precisely what was expected, it was more than difficult for the man to keep his throat as his own.

"Oh yes?" was how Edward replied, his fingers tapping a flickering, fluttering tap against the handle of his cane, wondering just how many swings it might take before someone dared to intervene, "And you do?"

"Yes!" The Spider replied, which was the wrong decision, "An' so I'm the only one who can be leavin' 'er all banged up, like wot you've been doin' to 'er every night!"

Now, Edward Hyde was not known for keeping his temper, and it was even less likely that he would bother to entertain social graces. So the fact that he stood there before the man, still as he was capable of being, nails on one hand digging into his palms so hard it was drawing beads of blood. This was hardly a sign of him suddenly deciding to throw away his wild and irrational lifestyle though.

"We seem to be drawing the attention of more than a few of your regulars," Hyde spoke with a pointed glance about the room. It was true, there were a few that so happened to be glancing in their general direction, but this was more done in an attempt to determine the position of the woman that he was so willingly defending. "That does sound like a poor business practice, shall we take this outside? I dare say that a touch of privacy might work wonders, no?"

Edward was not going to take any response that wasn't a hard conformation as an answer, and so, with a hand on the older man's shoulder, he not so gently guided him outside. At the very least, the owner of the building did not cause more of a scene than they had already begun to cause, which could have almost brightened the mood of the beast, had his mood not been so soured by the mere existence of the man in question.

In the time it took for Nellie, another woman who so happened to work there, to ask Lucy if she was alright, the answer unsurprisingly being in the negative, Hyde came striding back in. Now it was not the unsettling, unstable smile upon his face that was the most disturbing element to the man, but rather the fresh blood upon his sleeves and the fact that he entered unaccompanied. With a nonchalant gait, he made his way right over to where Lucy stood, wishing very much that she could retreat but knowing she had already had more than enough pain for one day.  
One of his hands found it's home against the back of her neck, buried in her dark hair, an action that caused her to gasp involuntarily, the other busy tilting her head so he could examine the bruise upon her cheek that was not so wholly hidden by her makeup. The thumb that he used to trail the wound with a softness that seemed ordinarily foreign to the man left a trail of blood upon her skin. Not her blood, nor his. With a small huff, he set about smudging the blood about before he managed to rid it from her cheek.

"You're safe now, little love." he murmured so very close to her ear, his voice itself coming with a similar softness as his touch had brought. It was still gravelly and more than a little hoarse, but it was not nearly as unpleasant as it ordinarily seemed.

"Wot..." Lucy began, surprised by the fact that, for once, she did feel genuinely and wholly safe in his presence, which alarmed her more than she'd dare admit, seeing the unhappy end to his shifting moods more often than she would dare to admit to even herself, "Wot did you do?"

"Does it matter?" was all he offered her in the way of explanation, drawing away just enough to be able to properly meet her eyes, as best he could given that his eyes were hidden from the world.

She did not respond verbally, but the little shake of her head spoke louder than words ever could. No, she did not want to know what he had done, wanting to believe in at least some good still lurking within his heart, but she wanted to believe in his words. If he said she was safe, then that was better than what she had previously so, frankly, it was enough for her.  
The smile that had been playing manically upon his face previously, and more recently had become one of earnest concern once more altered it's shape into something exciting. He clasped her shoulders, something cautious even in this though the cause of said caution was a wound that he had so willingly inflicted upon her previously, and without a beat, he sprung away. Clasping her hand, he dragged her over to the little stage that she performed upon, and hopped right on up, which made her own scrambling a little less easy given that he had sprung and left her, still clasped, beneath him.

"Oi!" Hyde shouted, slamming his cane down once, twice, and finally thrice against the wood, the sound of this drawing more attention than his voice had done, "I have an announcement to make, so you had better listen to me now!"

Thankfully the good folks who had chosen, for some reason, to spend their evening at The Red Rat had fallen silent, and those less than good folks had nothing better to do than to listen to the madman who had so willingly demanded their attention and cared not if it ruined their evenings. It was a bother, but it was the general consensus that it was easier to listen and have him get over with it rather than trying to fight against it.

"As of, say," Hyde paused, drew out his pocket watch for a moment, "I don't know, I didn't check the time before, five or so minutes ago, this building is now under new, and better management." This was met with confused murmurs, especially from those who could not care less about who ran the place as long as the drinks continued to pour, and so had no idea why they were expected to care. "This fine lady here," another pause, spent with him lifting Lucy, who had absolutely not expected to be lifted into the air to show her off, "As you must know is Lucy Harris, is the new owner and manager of The Red Rat!"

"I'm sorry, I'm wot?" she hissed into his ear, being brave enough to risk possible repercussions from this.

"It is not yet official, but I will have the papers for here signed under your name. I can serve as your middle man if you so wish it. Now, what are the names of the other lead performers in his other pubs?" There was far too much nonchalance practically dripping off each and every word, especially those that absolutely needed more of an emphasis to it.

"As is," the man began after another moment of whispers of name exchanging, "Miss Gina of The Dregs, and Ivy Pearson of The Spider's Web! If you have any problem with these fair ladies," he paused just long enough to flash his teeth in a snarl, examining the gathered crowd in the search of even the slightest bit of displeasure, "I invite each and every one of you to discuss your grievances with me first, I am sure I can talk the same sense into you as I did our previous owner." This was punctuated by a pointed fidget with his sleeves, making it very clear that was a threat. "Now, a few words from Lucy!" he exclaimed with no warning, jumping off the stage with reckless abandonment, leaving the woman looking a little like a startled deer.

"For all the ladies wot were, uh," she began, trying so very hard to shake off her awkwardness, "Employed 'ere under threat of bein' tossed into the streets, your room is still yours, even if you don't want to work 'ere anymore and," the more she spoke, the more comfortable she was beginning to feel, one of the wonders of the theatre and the powers of the stage, "And to anyone wot wants to come by, you're still welcomed, in fact, I'll try an' make the place better for everyone wot comes through the doors!"

Hyde waited by the door as he listened to her speech, offering her an approving nod when she finished, her attention landing on him, a clear and real smile lighting up her weary features in a way that was truly and entirely beautiful. He took a breath before he slipped out of the door and back into the night. The sensation of the good Dr. Henry Jekyll's conscious, forever present in the back of his mind, was growing more and more, meaning his time as himself was growing closer and closer to its end and he had one more place to be that night.  
It wouldn't take long, he was sure, to convince Simon to change the names of the buildings ownership, especially given the fact that the man's dislike of him was rivaled by his fear of his own social standing crumbling around him with a few words spoken to the right people. Perhaps Simon and Henry were not so different when they shared such a looming fear and fragile place in the world.  
Edward would have to thank his lucky stars that, while he did not enjoy having to share the same space as Simon Stride, it was just he that held all the official leases to each of the buildings that were rented out by the late and not so great The Spider. All he would have to do was pop by, exchange words with the man then make his way over to his dearest Gabriel John Utterson's house so that things would all be considered legal in the eye of the law, then sneak back in time for the pitiful Henry Jekyll to take control and be, as Hyde would make sure, be left completely and entirely unaware of the shape that his worse self had shaped the night before.


End file.
